Environment

By Dennis A. Cardoza

During his six-year tenure in the California State Assembly, Dennis Cardoza has consistently supported major environmental and natural resources legislation. As a representative from the Central Valley, Cardoza has deftly managed the delicate balance between the environmental goals of Northern and Southern California with the necessary demands of the agricultural community in the Central Valley. Respected environmental advocacy groups such as the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters have favorably scored his voting record in the Assembly. In Congress, Cardoza will continue to fight for improving the environment for the safety of his constituents of today, tomorrow and the future.

Air Quality As a resident of Merced County, a region with one of the worst air quality levels in California, Assemblyman Cardoza has made improving air quality standards in California one of his top priorities. Cardoza's bill AB 2637 directs the immediate implementation of Smog Check II in the San Francisco Bay Area. This tough emission control program will greatly decrease the estimated 27% of air pollution from the Bay Area that travels annually into the San Joaquin Valley and other downwind regions.

Recently, Assemblyman Cardoza was the 41st and deciding vote on AB 1493, the groundbreaking bill to achieve cost-effective gas emission reductions from motor vehicles by the year 2006. Despite a costly negative campaign by the nation's leading auto manufacturers, Cardoza's insistence on protecting future generations of Californians from breathing polluted air and reducing our dependence on foreign oil outweighed any political side effects.

Land Preservation Assemblyman Cardoza believes that in order to provide for the future of California and the United States there must be smart planning for land use and development. He has supported legislation in the Assembly to acquire private lands from willing landowners for conservation purposes and to provide grants to landowners to promote preservation and enhancement of native plants and wildlife on rangeland.

This year, Cardoza has led the fight this year to retain the Williamson Act within California's 2002 budget. The Williamson Act is designed to preserve agricultural lands and open space by decreasing the property taxes of landowners who commit to protect open space or keep agricultural values in tact and in return the State repays the individual counties for lost revenue.

Water Quality and Safety Safe drinking water is crucial to California's residents. As such, Assemblyman Cardoza has voted for major water quality enhancement legislation like the adoption of stricter drinking water standards for hexavalent chromium and arsenic. Cardoza has also supported legislation to reduce the amount of mercury disposed in California in order to decrease the likelihood of mercury contamination in the water supply.